A Very Merry Goblin Christmas
by FromTheAshMeadow
Summary: Christmas Time has come to the Goblin Kingdom. Even for the most glittery Goblin King, Jareth doesn't quite understand Christmas or Sarah's obsession with everything green, red, and snowy. Why is that goblin wearing bells? Why is there a massive tree in the throne room? Why is everyone so god damn merry? One off piece!


_A Very Merry Goblin Christmas_

"Sarah, must we do this?" Jareth said as he surveyed the Goblin hall with a sceptical eye.

"Oh, shush," Sarah said, dancing merrily about as some rogue goblins covered her with tinsel. "It's Christmas, Jareth."

Jareth's scowl did not falter. He did not understand this concept of "Christmas" and nor, in fact, did he wish to be merry. He crossed his arms over his chest and grimaced as goblins pranced happily about, not fearing a kick or even the Bog of Eternal Stench. This Christmas festivity was ruining the Goblin Kingdom! Where was the abject misery? The fear for their King? Why, in all of the Underground, did everyone have to be so _happy?_

"Sarah…" He growled as goblins squealed and shrieked all around him. Why did even agree to this in the first place? Sure, Sarah wanted to celebrate _human_ celebrations and sure, Jareth liked glitter as much as the next fairy, but really, was this all necessary? What was wrong with the Underground tradition of Draining the Bog? It was a seasonal time in which no goblin or fae-folk could be subjected to its stench. Surely that was something?

Jareth grumbled to himself. This would not do. Even though he had given Sarah free reign of the castle and grounds did not mean she ran the place! After all, he was King! You couldn't just take over a kingdom with neatly wrapped boxes and hope everyone will enjoy it. _He_ certainly wasn't enjoying it.

Jareth hadn't realised he was pacing until he felt a hand over his crossed forearm. He looked up and saw dark brown eyes filled with concern.

"It is only for a while," Sarah said, "You will get your kingdom back."

Jareth eyed her playfully, "Oh, I will. Be certain of that."

She only raised her eyebrow slightly, but it was enough for Jareth to see the challenge there. She never did quite like it when he was determined to get his own way. And he very much liked to see her irked. He decided to push a little more.

"If your little human game doesn't work out, precious, I will personally bog every goblin that helped you for ruining my chamber." Goblins dropped their tools and tinsel left, right and centre. Jareth simply waited for her to take the bait.

She didn't take it. "It's already working out perfectly, so I have no fears on that account."

There was a collective sigh of relief and the goblins.

"And," she added, throwing tinsel over her shoulder like a scarf as she sauntered away, "I personally think it's made an improvement." Jareth gritted his teeth and growled. Sarah inwardly smiled. "The whole gloom-and-doom dungeon is so two centuries ago, Goblin-boy." _Gotcha._

"Now, see here—" Jareth began, stepping forward to catch Sarah's arm. He missed and was interrupted by the large wooden doors blowing open and a swarm of hardened goblins rushing in carrying a gigantic pine tree. "What is that!?"

"The Tree!" Sarah screamed, running towards the beefy lumberjack goblins with joyous glee.

"No. No. No. Absolutely not." Jareth said, coming up behind Sarah as she bowed down to sign the delivery notice. "Get that thing out of here now." Sarah was already signing as Jareth ripped the paper from the goblin's meaty hands and threw it away. "Do not sign that!"

"Already signed!" She turned to him and smiled quickly before turning back to the delivery goblins. "Put it in the centre—wait no, to the left, near the window!"

Jareth internally groaned. He wiped his face with his leather glove and silently wished this Christmas was over. Chaos was all around him. Absolute chaos. Brightly coloured decorations covered each and every brick wall. They sparkled and chimed like little annoying birds that had rolled themselves in fairy dust. Goblins chittered away with little belled hats dangling from their round, plump heads. The monstrosity of a tree was being placed in the centre of the hall, blocking the view from his throne to the rest of the Goblin city. His throne was even covered in a substance Sarah called 'fake snow' – which by all means wasn't as beautiful or as cold as real snow. The latter, however, he was thankful for. A wet, cold throne was definitely not the throne for a King! Yes, everything and everywhere was taken over by this so-called 'Christmas Spirit' – a spirit that Jareth thought was quite an impractical spirit, as he had not seen or heard from it in any shape or form since Sarah said it had arrived. It was either a very rude spirit or it was simply senseless enough to not possess skills in the magical arts. What kind of spirit was not endued with magic in some way, he did not know! Probably a _human_ spirit, Jareth thought.

Jareth sat himself down on his throne, throwing one leg over the arm in his usual style. He would not partake in this frivolity, but he would let Sarah have her way for now. Even as he sat miserable and agitated, the sight of Sarah smiling and dancing around the hall, interacting with all creatures alike made his small, cold heart warm. He could never begrudge her this small happiness, even if it did make a mess of his throne room. She was happy and in reality, that was all Jareth wanted from life...

"Come on, help me!" Sarah called as she tried and failed to decorate a high branch. Jareth pushed himself from the chair and stood with crossed arms watching her as she struggled. He simply smirked when she frowned at him and then, eventually when he had had enough amusement, went over to help her reach the branch.

He did not understand Christmas, but he wanted to understand Sarah. This was part of her life on the surface and he always wanted to know more about it. Sarah handed him a strange, shiny orb and he held it, wondering what on earth it was. It was not magical like the orbs he conjured. It was not even heavy. He let it go and watched it smash on the ground. Oh, that was fun, he thought. He picked up another and let it fall again.

 _Smash_.

Before he could even touch the third one, Sarah grabbed his hand stopping him. "Hold it there, Goblin boy." She took the box away from him and held one red orb in front of him. "This is not for smashing. This is for hanging." She turned away from him and placed the little orb on a tree branch. She flicked it and it moved in a clockwise motion, catching the light as it did so. Some of the goblins 'ooohed' as it did.

"What is the tree for exactly? Why a tree?" he asked, watching with distain as the pines dropped around his stone throne room floor.

Sarah stopped for a moment, "You know, I'm not too sure. It's just always been a tree. Celebrates eternal life, I think."

Jareth scoffed, "Humans don't know anything about eternal life."

Sarah smiled, "We might not be mortal but we understand it quite perfectly."

"And what are those orbs then? And why are they good for smashing?" he asked, picking one up again.

Sarah jumped down from decorating and took the bauble from his dangerous hands. "They're for placing on the tree. It's a family thing." She looked at the small orb in her hand. "When I was younger and at home, me and my dad always used to decorate the tree. It was tradition and he always helped me reach the top branches when I couldn't." She smiled sadly and placed the bauble on the tree. "Actually, even when I could as well."

Jareth knew immediately why she was doing this and putting so much effort into it too. She missed them. She missed them all. Her life, her dad, even Toby. She missed them and he couldn't help… or could he?

Sarah tried to smile but he could tell it was fragile. "What do you think?" she asked, gesturing towards the tree.

Jareth just simply nodded and poofed out of the room, thoughts of orbs and family trailing in his wake...

* * *

By the time darkness had fallen over the Goblin Kingdom, Sarah was exhausted. The rooms had been decorated, the fires had been lit and the Christmas tree had been placed, however Sarah had ran the risk of using real candles instead of electric lights around the castle and even in the tree itself. Turns out, the Goblin Kingdom does not have a generator and goblins seem to be rather scared of electricity. So real candles would do.

She sat with her feet up, curled up on Jareth's throne gazing at the tree before her with the Goblin city as its backdrop. A warm cosiness filled her chest as she admired her and the goblin's work. She couldn't have done it without them. Jareth knew nothing of Christmas when she mentioned it, but apparently the goblins themselves did. They apparently tuned in every Christmas to watch the 'humans blow up the tree'. Who knew that down in the Underground you could get cable TV?

They were however rather sad when they realised Sarah wouldn't actually be blowing up the tree. Apparently they never really made it past viewing the countdown to turning on the Christmas lights. Goblins being goblins, they just assumed the countdown was to blow at least _something_ up.

Even though Sarah knew her place in the Goblin Kingdom, she missed her family and her home. Christmas was one of those time which one needed their family. And she really did miss them. Looking at the tree now, she thought about how her dad would always insist on giving her a boost to put the star on the top of the tree, even when she grew into a fully-fledged adult. He would always make sure she reached that star. Toby too would always get to place the first bauble on the tree – the one he handmade back when he was only four years old. These were the highlights of her life, Sarah thought. And it was deeply saddening that she might not even get to relive them.

At that moment, the door creaked open.

Jareth stood at the doorway, just simply looking at her. Feeling suddenly self-conscious, Sarah rubbed the tears from her cheeks and sat up a little straighter.

"No, please, stay as you are." Jareth said, coming out of the shadows and into the light of the fire. He came closer still, his footsteps echoing off the stone floor as the fire crackled and burned into the silent room.

There was something innately intimate about the whole situation that made Sarah's heart pound that little deeper and her cheeks flush a little redder. Jareth approached her and simply knelt down beside her. He placed something on the floor and then went to touch her face with both of his un-gloved hands. When his smooth skin touched hers, her cheeks burnt even more and she pressed her face into his cool palms. "Are you alright, my love?" he asked, whispering even though it was just the two of them, as if he didn't want to break the moment.

Sarah nodded and breathed in the coolness of this scent. He was colder than she was, even by the fire. But then again, Jareth was always a little cooler in body temperature than she. She still asked this question, "Have you been outside?"

Jareth laughed lowly, "How did you know?"

She smiled back, "I can feel the cold on your hands and you smell like fresh air and pine needles."

He didn't say anything, but she knew she was right. He had been outside. He simply stood slowly and took her hand in his, pulling her carefully towards him. "Come."

She followed him as he took her towards the bay window behind the Christmas tree. There was a small sitting area with red and green cushions placed on it. It was just big enough for the both of them to sit down. They faced each other and Sarah looked out of the window.

"What do you see, Sarah?" Jareth asked.

She looked at him then and saw the heat in his mismatched eyes. They were truly startling eyes. They caught her out every time. She didn't think she'd ever get used to them, but that thought gave her pleasure. It was something that she would always remember, whatever happened.

"I see your kingdom, Jareth. The Goblin realm."

Jareth didn't take his eye off her for a moment. "I hope that is not all you see." He said with a curious tone to his voice. He took her hand in his and pressed it to his lips in a small, but lingering kiss. "I hope you see your kingdom too. Your home."

She smiled and moved closer to him. "You are my home, Jareth. Where you go, I go. You know that."

"Indeed, I do." He said quietly, almost sheepishly. He cleared his throat quickly, "Sarah, I know I cannot take you home and you cannot travel to the Upperworld… but, well, I want to show you something." He moved her slight away from him and pointed towards the window. Suddenly, with a tap of his finger on the glass, the entire labyrinth and city beyond turned white. Snow white.

"I cannot bring you the real thing, but I can give you this." He said, whispering in her ear. He pressed his head onto hers and breathed deeply, "I will always try to make you happy, Sarah."

Sarah couldn't believe her eyes or even her ears. Jareth had turned the entire Goblin Kingdom into a winter world. Snow blanketed the surrounding landscape, covering the hills and the labyrinth in a deep solid white block. Snowflakes fell from the darkened sky and candles lit the ground, guiding the way for a wary traveller. It was beautiful, truly magnificent. The whole of the Goblin Kingdom pale, cold and utterly breath-taking – and it was all for her.

"Oh, Jareth," was as all she could say. A tear started to trickle down her cheek, but Jareth caught it at the curve of her jawbone.

"After how I behaved today, I wanted to show you that I do understand you and your world. Even if it is not what I am used to."

She smiled, leaned forward and kissed him gently but deeply, her gratitude echoing across the physical embrace. He kissed her back with as much passion and love, but he broke it first.

"I almost forgot." He placed his hands briefly on her cheek, sweeping up another tear and then with his other hand opened a small red-ribboned box beside him. Sarah hadn't even notice the box. With a flick of his elegant fingers and crystal flew from the box, only to hover directly in front of them. He placed the small tear balanced on his finger inside the blank crystal and they both watched as it bloomed and moved, like dancing ice, within the hollow chamber. It moved and swayed as if platting itself together and then burst forth from the centre of the crystal, staining the inside silver.

"Now, think about your family" Jareth commanded gently as the crystal hovered before them,

She did. She thought about her father's laugh. Toby's silly gap-tooth smile. And before her eyes, they appeared to her – happy and content at Christmas. A Christmas time past. Toby open presents frantically. Dad rushed around trying to cook the turkey and failing miserably.

"I remember this Christmas," she said happily. "Dad forgot to defrost the turkey, so we couldn't eat it until very late at night. We were all starving, but he persevered and we sat down for Christmas dinner at 1am the next day." Sarah smiled deeply. "It was one of the best Christmases I've ever had." Sarah looked into Jareth's eyes, touched his face and said, "Until now."

They kissed and until late in the morning they sat talking about all the festive adventures and misadventures Sarah had had in all those years on the surface. Jareth laughed alongside her, cried alongside her and smiled, thinking how strange these Christmases were.

"Merry Christmas, Jareth." Sarah whispered.

"Merry Christmas, my dearest Sarah."


End file.
